Favorite Godzilla music

[TheSecondComing]

Highway Road!

Not sure anybody is old enough to remember how much love their was for this song amongst senior Gojistomp users.

[Ookondru99]

Mechagodzilla 2's theme, i don't like the monster but the theme is EPIC

[Space Hunter M]

Yuji Koseki - Mothra and the Tokyo Tower (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkBB8HO3Uk8)

[mike2write]

To answer this, for me, is to disregard Ifukube's music in its entirety, as it is all nothing short of brilliant. Yes, there are instances of cues somewhat mis-used at times to some. And yes, Ifukube, especially in later years, re-used his themes a great deal - even ascribing one monster's showa theme to a different monster in heisei films. There are even non-monster themes from the past in later kaiju films (Samurai Saga's mournful themes can be heard in G vs. MechaG heisei.) But all cues are distinctly Ifukube, and grand.

That having been said, I'm a huge, and some might say blasphemous, fan of the G vs. Biollante score. I had seen a lovely anime called Sea Prince and the Fire Child in the early 80's (recently released by Discotek) and its score somehow stayed in the back of my mind. When I first saw GvB it bugged the hell out of me - where had I heard this composer before? Bear in mind, this was on a bootleg copy from the just-released Japan VHS, and the internet was still a twinkle in someone's eye. I did make the connection somehow, upon repeated viewings. Koichi Sugiyama scored both, as well as a lost-in-the-US anime called The Ideon - why did any of us get rid of our old bootleg anime? Although his interpretation of a kaiju score is thought of by many as inferior, I disagree (with the possible exception of the disco-style action cue at the beginning.) There is an elegance and subtlety to his score missing in other non-Ifukube efforts, such as Masaru Satoh's scores and Godzilla '84's - although I do quite like parts of that one as well.

Also, having thoroughly enjoyed his work on the heisei Gamera trilogy for Shusuke Kaneko, another favorite of mine is Ko Otani's GMK score. It's a Spielberg/Williams thing - Otani's music just suits Kaneko's style. Otani's music for Kaneko's psi-fi film Crossfire (Pyrokinesis in the US) is also far above genre standards.

I guess the greatest compliment to be paid to these scores is to say that the music stands up well to repeated listening, and is apt to surprise in some little way every time.

That's my two cents.

-Mike

[Rody]

I've recently fallen in love with the score from Godzilla vs. Biollante. The music is wonderfully varied and well written. The Godzilla theme is probably one of the most epic scores in the franchise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPIqqFlsH84

[therealmccoy]

It's a great score, and it really gets you into the "mood" so to speak, but I still prefer the soundtrack from the previous film. Reijiro Koroku knocked me out with that one.

[Tamura]

Not sure anybody is old enough to remember how much love their was for this song amongst senior Gojistomp users.

Ha, I was one of 'em.

[Baradagi]

Like Mike I'm also guilty of enjoying Sugiyama's music for BIOLLANTE...

Last week I finally got in Reijiro Koroku's score for FLYING ATTACK! SPACE FIST which contains the original unused theme for the Super-X and another alternate version of Godzilla's theme which sounds like it came from Masamichi Amano's score from URTOTSUKIDOJI!

[Giga Kaiju]

Godzilla Vs Biollante
The return Of Godzilla
Godzilla Vs King Ghidorah (91)
GMK
Godzilla Vs MechaGodzilla (74)
Gojira
Mothra Vs Godzilla
Godzilla 2000
Michiru Oshima Trilogy
Terror Of MechaGodzilla

[Space Hunter M]

Akira Ifukube - Element X (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhajyVSMlsU)

Although originally composed for King Kong Escapes, I'm sure most of you will remember it for its use in Godzilla vs. Gigan, myself included.

[CatfaceFourtoes]

Gee, that's a hard call. I guess I'll just toss in the themes I would play at the back of my head to keep me from looking at the clock at work.

1.The theme in Godzilla vs. Mothra where Godzilla's about to trip the electrical trap. The music practically hums with a threatening electrical buzz. Plus the music they play when Mothra is attacking Godzilla really sells the idea that it is a giant bug monster from the atomic age. That shrill quavering note that a lot of the movies at the time played when a grotesque creepy crawly monster appears. It kind of reminded me of Them or Tarantula

2.Get Rodan/Get Ghidorah in GvsKG. I don't know which I like better, but the one from Rodan seems to go well with the action, so I'll use that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJghA5ix ... re=related

3. IoAM: "Monster Mega-War March"

4.The main theme from Destroy All Monsters
Reminds me of Mega War March with lower energy, but heavier sound.

5.The Mesa March from GvsM:Battle for Earth. The theme plays as the military proceeds to hit Godzilla with everything, and Godzilla just walks right through them. It exuberantly picks up as the flying Mazers take shots at Godzilla and it seems momentarily halt its advance, with Godzilla roaring in frustration. Then bam! Godzilla blasts it out of the sky and the music abruptly stops. Epic.

6.The military marches from Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla2, for basically making another theme like the Mesa March that picks up the pace early and keeps it going until the end.

7.Godzilla vs. Gigan main theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1rJZUIH ... re=related
It was so cool to hear this theme after hearing the high energy tune they gave Gigan in the NES game Godzilla Monster of Monsters. It's fitting music for a monster that has battle axes for arms.

[MothraPeanuts]

For the most part, I actually found the score for GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE to be pretty atrocious. But of course, I don't like that film period.

A absolutely adore all of Ifukube's music, and I greatly enjoy Sato's and Manabe's scores as well. But my absolute favorite peice of music from the entire franchise is Mechagodzilla's theme from GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA (1993). Epic. Absolutely 100% EPIC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yznVNRj9S4k

[ScootaVaran]

Godzilla on the ocean floor, G'54
Thats a very emotional piece of music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B0Z3McSCn4

Theme to Varan

Theme to Mysterians

[Rody]

Godzilla's 1984 theme:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJzDwopF2_A
Spooky. Reminds me of Starcraft.

[Space Hunter M]

Godzilla (1954) - Godzilla's Rampage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xPKolXdyiM

While it structurally pales in comparison to future renditions of the theme, the shear destructive power of it really sets up a dark and terrible atmosphere for the accompanying visuals.

[Gojira-Fan]

Godzilla (1954) - Godzilla's Rampage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xPKolXdyiM

While it structurally pales in comparison to future renditions of the theme, the shear destructive power of it really sets up a dark and terrible atmosphere for the accompanying visuals.

I never noticed, but is that just a trombone, piano and gong?

[space godzilla]

The King Caesar song from Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla.

[Space Hunter M]

I never noticed, but is that just a trombone, piano and gong?

Ifukube's early work was usually confined to smaller orchestras, so it's quite possible.

[Rody]

The Artistry of Akira Ifukube 4 — CYU, T30: RONDO IN BURLESQUE FOR JAPANESE DRUM AND ORCHESTRA

I think this is now my number-one favorite piece of music.
Epic.

[Space Hunter M]

I quite agree. It's a wonderful rendition of one of the man's most memorable themes, though admittedly I prefer the 1983 recording.